Method for Implementing Retention Policies to Archive Records

1. A method, comprising: indicating a record has having one of a plurality of states including a retention state, an event state, and a combination retention and hold state; receiving a request to delete the record; denying the request in response to determining that the record has the retention state indicating that the record has an unexpired retention period; denying the request in response to determining that the record has the event state indicating that an event condition is not satisfied; and denying the request in response to determining that the record has the combination retention and hold state indicating that there is either an unexpired retention period or the record is subject to a hold.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein one of the plurality of states includes a combination event and hold state, further comprising: denying the request in response to determining that the record has the combination event and hold state indicating that the event condition is not satisfied or the record is subject to a hold.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the hold in the combination retention and hold state and the combination event and hold state comprises one of an audit hold indicating that the record cannot be removed due to a pending audit and a legal hold indicating that the record cannot be removed due to instigation of legal proceedings.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the retention state indicates that the record has the unexpired retention period or has an expired retention period and is eligible for deletion.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the combination retention and hold state indicates one of: that the record has the unexpired retention period and the retention period is suspended while subject to the hold, that the record retention period is expired but cannot be removed due to the hold.

6. The method of claim 2 , further comprising: processing a hold transition for the record; indicating that the record has the combination retention and hold state in response to the record having the retention state; and indicating that the record has the combination event and hold state in response to the record having the event state.

7. The method of claim 2 , further comprising: processing a hold remove transition for the record; indicating that the record has the retention state in response to the record having the combination retention and hold state; and indicating that the record has the event state in response to the record having the combination event and hold state.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: processing an event satisfied transition for the record; indicating that the record has the retention state with an unexpired retention period in response to the record having the event state with the event condition unsatisfied and in response to the event satisfied transition.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: processing a retention expired transition for the record; indicating that the record has the retention state with an expired retention period in response to the record having the retention state with the unexpired retention period.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: processing an event condition transition for the record; indicating that the record has satisfied transition for the record; indicating that the record has the retention state with an unexpired retention period in response to the record having the event state with the event condition unsatisfied and in response to the event satisfied transition.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: indicating the record as having a delete state in response to the record having the retention state with an expired retention period.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving a purge transition for the record to delete metadata for the record; indicating the record as having a purge state in response to the record having the delete state, wherein transition to the purge state is only allowed if the record has the delete state.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising: receiving a permament hold transition for the record; indicating the record as having a permament hold state, wherein the record does not transition to the hold state if the record is in the purge state.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the retention state, the event state, and the combination retention and hold state are each represented as a separate folder in a file system, and wherein records having one of the retention state, the event state, and the combination retention and hold state are included in the folder associated with the state.